With so many things health tips To avoid excess sugar in our diets in order to reduce the risks of obesity and tooth decay, some people choose to use artificial sweeteners as an alternative in hot drinks and recipes.
Artificial sweeteners that mimic the composition of sugar can be made in laboratory from carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. Some reports suggest that artificial sweeteners directly affect human gut health, but there is currently little evidence proof of this.
The fate of these sweeteners once they enter our environment is rarely considered. But one recent study Researchers at the University of Florida have shown that a commonly used artificial sweetener, sucralose, could have negative effects on our freshwater ecosystems.
This study measured the effect of sucralose (also known as E955), one of the sweeteners approved for use in the UK, on the microbes in our water systemsThe researchers found that the presence of sucralose hindered the growth of blue-green algae (or cyanobacteria) which photosynthesize to produce oxygen, help regulate oxygen levels in the marine environment and provide a food source for many organisms, including fish.
Ingesting sucralose in place of these nutrients means that microbes do not thrive, because sucralose cannot be broken down by the enzymes that break down natural sugars to fuel their metabolism.
This in turn can have adverse effects on the food chain and disrupt carefully balanced ecosystems once sucralose is released into our aquatic system and the wider environment. A 2019 study found that the presence of sucralose can cause DNA damage and genetic mutations in freshwater fish like carp.
Sweet but persistent
Artificial sweeteners like sucralose are not metabolized by the human body and are therefore excreted. That is why they are low-calorie alternatives to sugar. And that is where the environmental problem begins. Current sewage treatment plants are not able to remove these sugar mimics, which means they end up in our environment, in our water, rivers and soil.
Additionally, sucralose is very difficult to break down: it is a persistent pollutant, or “forever chemical.” This is because it does not readily undergo bacterial decomposition.
Permanent chemicals are increasingly present in our streams, rivers and oceans – including per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) that do not degrade. PFAS are synthetic chemicals found in many consumer products, including skin care products, beauty products And waterproof clothingPFAS can remain in the human body for many years and some pose significant risks to our health, potentially leading to liver damage, thyroid disease, obesity and infertility. and cancer.
Artificial sweeteners that persist in our environment act like PFAS because they cannot be broken down. If they cannot be completely avoided, there is an urgent need to implement methods to remove and recover them from wastewater.
These include the use of biomimetic membranes – filtration devices containing natural proteins that remove contaminants from water. In collaboration with researchers around the world, we develop new bio-inspired membranes which mimic biological gateways present in nature. The latter will be able to selectively extract compounds from water at low pressure and with low energy input.
For example, cells need to take up phosphate to make DNA, but it can’t simply pass through the fatty membranes that surround all cells. Therefore, special transport proteins exist in cell membranes, acting as specific “gates” to let phosphate into cells. Bioinspired membranes extract and integrate these transport proteins into plastic membranes that can be used to commercially remove phosphate from water in a specific way.
Above all, this research should serve as a wake-up call to policy makers and water utilities to redouble their efforts to minimize the many sources of chemical pollution that can affect water quality in the environment.